Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 41,475 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 32.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 167,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,475 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $8,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 36,863 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $61,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 18,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 351.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $52.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.95.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

USB stock opened at $54.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.61 and a 200 day moving average of $47.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $35.18 and a 52 week high of $55.15.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,041,584.76. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This trade represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.